


Pretty Pieces

by Likara



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heartbreak, Multiverse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Redemption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:41:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Likara/pseuds/Likara
Summary: She should have known nothing good would come out of it. It was doomed from the start. And jet, here she was. She’d fallen for the God of Mischief.Picking up the pieces after taking jet another blow, in a world that had to radically change twice in the last few years, would be challenging for Alva.But the Trickster himself was up for a challenge as well. And someone like him wouldn’t give up easily.
Relationships: Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Loki/Original Female Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	Pretty Pieces

**NOW**

According to the Sokovia Accords from 2016, every member of a commission-approved mission, had to submit a report immediately after returning to the headquarter, at the latest, six hours after returning. The only reason not to follow this dictate was a testimony from the medical department, saying that they were in no shape to do so. 

Well, Alva Maria Harens was pretty sure that Loki was back at the compound for at least four hours, and he hadn't been near the medical department nor had the need to be.

_He just doesn't care._

Loki always took longer than most to give in his reports, and his were the shortest as well. In the past, when he first started going on missions with the others, he complained about them to her all the time. In the beginning, she guessed he thought it was insulting to him, that he had to report his actions to some lowly humans. Later she just realized it wasn't in his nature to justify his doings to anyone. He did as he pleased. Period.

Alva pushed away the memory of a time between those two mindsets when she saw a God of Mischief who was unsure of himself. Who was afraid that said reports would show imperfectness. Who desperately wanted to be accepted and fit in. Who was scared of rejection... 

_Those stupid papers need to be done._

It was her job to make sure the reports went out on time. She was one of the mission managers, one of the folks who coordinated things for the operations, like talking to air traffic controls, local law enforcement, handing out compensation checks. But most importantly, she dealt with the Sokovia Accord commission. And a big part of that was to collect the reports, sometimes blue-pencil them and sending them to those damn representatives. 

She did her job for a little over four years now. And things were good. Really good. It was mostly, research, paperwork, and phone calls, sure. But you had a good amount of negotiating skills, and a little bit of charm couldn't hurt either. The ability to see the bigger picture, as well as faults in it, was essential. She liked what she did and was pretty good at it if she said so herself. 

_It only..._

Alva sighed. She was long done with Wandas and Parkers reports. Those were fine. But the commission wasn't thrilled about this operation, to begin with. They were on thin ice with this one, and Lokis were the ones that needed the most work. She didn't want to take a risk. 

If she wanted to keep her clean record, she had to go to Lokis quarter and see what took him so freaking long. 

With an annoyed grunt, Alva grabbed her jacket and left her office. She hadn't been there for nearly a year, but her feet knew the way without her really noticing it. Before long, she stood in front of his door. Taking a deep breath, she knocked. 

Waiting ten seconds, nothing happened. Letting out another annoyed grunt, Alva knocked again, not as delicate this time. Three sharp knocks. 

It did the trick, although she immediately wished it didn't.

Loki opened the door only in his pants. His torso was bare, as were his feet. His long raven hair was tousled but his eyes were clear, focused, also surprised. So she knew he hadn't been sleeping. 

"Alva? What-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt. But it's been almost five hours since you guys came back from the mission. I need your report." She cut him off tonelessly. 

Loki was quiet. He stared at her face for a few seconds as if he tried to figure out what she just said.

Alva tried not to roll her eyes. "Well..." she cleared her throat.

Loki blinked.

"Yes. I... I have to admit I forgot the time," He finally said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. So, you’re the last one. Therefore… if you just follow me to my office so we could get this done. I’m running on a tight schedule here.“

He still stared at her, but she saw how his gaze hadn't just stayed on her face, it glided over her body. Fast, she almost rather felt it than saw it but was sure of it no less.

"Of course, of course. Forgive me. Still, I didn’t expect you. I'll get ready. Please, do you want to come in?“

She couldn't help it. She wrinkled her nose. "I really don't. Could you just... pause... whatever it is that you do and hurry? I want to get this over as soon as possible."

She barely had time to see the change in Loki's face, his eyes went cold, colder than they were anyway, and with a muttered: "Very well." He closed the door in her face. 

Alva was furious as she waited on him. He could _very well_ get himself suitable in a blink of an eye with his magic. She saw it a hundred times before. But he wanted to be difficult and make her life miserable. Well, no. Not today. She would get herself together and get through to this rare encounter with him. 

Four minutes later - she looked at her watch - he opened the door again. 

"Thank you for your patience." He said while stepping out. She just nodded, barely looking at him, and started to head for her office. Loki followed suit. 

They walked in silence for a few minutes before Alva heard his voice. 

"I didn't mean to cause any inconveniences for you. Those reports tend to slip my mind. They don't seem so important after all."

"Well, it might not seem important to you, but they are to others." Her response might come out a little more aggressive than she meant to but she couldn't help it. Loki seemed untouched by it anyways.

"You would think that after everything your reality has been through those last ten years, your people would drop those silly Accords.“ He snickered.

"It sure would make things easier…. but…. oh well.“

Alva bit her tongue to keep from saying anything else. It all would come out as snappish anyway. And she'd sworn that this was behind her.

When they reached her office, she let him in first. Closing the door, she couldn't help but noticed that his tall frame made the room noticeable smaller. Without saying anything she sat down at her desk and pointed to the chair in front of it. Loki - after a few seconds- sat down on it. But not without making a show out of crossing his long legs. 

Alva ignored that. Her eyes were on her computer. 

"Your flesh drive, please?" She asked him without looking away from the screen.

Loki reached into his trousers. He stretched his arm over her desk, waiting for her to take it.

She didn't. Maybe she just wanted to be difficult. Maybe the chances of touching his skin in the process were simply too high.

With a sigh, Loki laid the flash drive on her desk. 

Alva reached for it a few seconds later, connecting it to her computer she opened the latest file. 

Her eyes flew over the words. It was surprisingly well written. No sneaky, witty potshots. Till...

"... _Two individuals were found, disarmed and handcuffed in the lower level. One individual tried to escape and fell in the process. Unfortunately, the recordings couldn't capture the said moment._

Loki, did you cover your body cam again?"

She looked at him, he was the picture of innocence.

"It did get covered by a dark, sticky liquid at one point, yes."

"The blood of the guy who was found with a stabbing wound in his shoulder?"

"Like you just read, he fell accidentally. And we were in a kitchen. Many sharp objects. And he was a bad guy."

"You know that on those operations without direct danger for civilians, human casualties on all parties have to be avoided. It's number one priority."

"Nobody died."

"Did the kitchen utensil also gave him the black eyes and the broken rips?"

She saw his lips twitching. 

_Damn, he fights hard to keep a straight face._

"As I said, he took a nasty fall. Maybe the floor was... slippery. And I can't be 100 percent sure, but maybe he even tripped over... something."

"Oh yeah, maybe something long and covered in leather?" She asked him, her eyebrows rising.

Loki frowned dramatically, looking to the side as if he was deep in thought, then he held up one finger, simulating recognition.

"You know... now that you say it. Yes, I might remember. There was something. But... good... no. It's no use. I just can't really recall it. What a shame something covered the body cam."

He was such a smug asshole, but damn she couldn't fight the amused grin. Yeah, Alva smiled at him. The first real smile directed at him in a very long time.

"You're impossible."

He simply grinned at her. They just looked at each other for a moment and Alva noticed that he was still gorgeous. Of course, he was. His grin was just as charming as it was annoying. Those eyes, still bright and beautiful. Still intimidating. A face, so extraordinary. If she let herself, she could feel the softness of his dark hair on her fingertips. Just like the smoothness of his pale skin. His tall figure, broad shoulders, and lean hips. 

All of him, a lovely, frightening contrast. 

Alva saw something enter his gaze, a question maybe. 

_Or hope._

Whatever it was before it could blossom she looked back to the screen. 

"Well, it is indeed deplorable. But we have to deal with it. Let's just... let's phrase it a bit differently. Less obvious. Shall we?" She looked back at him and Loki nodded, avoiding her gaze for a change. 

"Sure thing. If you say so."

They finished the rest quite uneventfully. Just a few other little things here and there.

"Alright, I just give it one more short go, and then we are good."

Loki simply nodded. When his voice broke the silence next, it was a little bit quieter than before, smoother as well. 

"Have you eaten lunch yet?"

"No, I'll go when I'm done here." She answered without much thought, still concentrating on the writings before her.

"Might if I keep you company?"

Alva stopped scanning the document. Her eyes shoot to Lokis. His bright eyes bored into her, his face serious and still. 

"What?"

"Have lunch with me, Alva. What's the harm? Just lunch."

_What's the harm?!_

"No."

"Alva-"

"Stop!" She spoke louder than she meant to. And she was sure the hint of grief in her voice wasn't only noticed by her. Loki went quiet. 

Alva closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath before she slowly placed her palms on her desk, collecting herself.

Her gaze found his again.

"Loki, please… just…“ She sighed. "We’re in an okay place right now, right? Civil... like most of the time. No one of us seems to be going somewhere else anytime soon, so let's keep it that way and only that way, alright?“

They stared at each other for a long moment. Finally, Loki chuckled lowly and looked away.

He tilted his head down, his typical grin playing around his thin lips, his eyes not meeting hers. "Of course, as you wish."

They finished fast after that. The air around them tense, but with nothing left to say. After Loki signed the finished report, he gave her another nod and a dry "Have a good day." before he left her office. 

She didn't allow herself to lose it. Not before the report was out, just barely making the deadline, anyway.

After it was done she took a few deep breaths. She was angry with herself. All of this shouldn't affect her as much as it did. Not anymore. It's been almost a year. But the truth was, they had been hardly alone in the last few months, or in the same room. 

Hill was kind enough to avoid putting them together on the same operation. It couldn't be prevented all the time, of course. But it was far less than in the years before. And even though Alva didn't like the fact that she got extra treatment, she was thankful. 

Today showed that she still had a long way to go till she could look at the God of Mischief without the piercing ache going through her body. 

**THEN**

Man, it felt good to be out of that office.

No misunderstandings, Alva liked Maria. She was nice, very professional, and clearly knew what she was doing. But those appraisal talks always made her nervous as hell. She was normally a pretty confident person. With a good amount of self-criticism if she said so, but something about the whole idea of an entire meeting only about her and how she did her work made her feel sick. 

Thankfully it'd gone great. One year at the job and Hill said she couldn't be happier with her work. So yeah. Alva felt pretty good. She hadn't been sure at first. Joining the former Avengers or SHIELD or something operation. They kept a pretty tight circle, too. And the qualifying examination... She'd had nightmares for weeks.

But it was rewarding in the end. She really liked what she was doing. And the people she worked with. Sure. Meeting folks like Wanda Maximoff, Bruce Banner, Bucky Barnes, and Sam Wilson had been wild at first. But literally only for a second. Everyone was equally professional as down to earth.

Alva had to move, though. Keeping in touch with old friends was hard, but she saw them and spoke to them whenever she could.

She didn't live on the compound but got a nice apartment in a brand new apartment complex appendant with the headquarter. Everything was pretty modern but cozy. She'd felt at home right away. Her friends were impressed if not a little bit jealous. Her family was proud. 

All in all, life was good. 

"Hey Al, what are you smiling about?" Brody greeted her when she entered one of the group rooms. A few of the mission managers wanted to discuss the instructions for so-called "optimal decision-making in case of an unpredictable event". 

"Oh, you know. It's a nice, sunny morning." She grinned at him while tying her hair together in the nape of her neck. It was finally long enough to do so. A while ago, when the world was still in mourning, she had cut it and also dyed her dark hair blond. She was trying to grow it out, but the ends were still showing her impulsively, coping with a traumatic event, late-night decision. 

Brody eyed her doubtfully before smirking himself. "Ah, I know. Hill gave you some sugar cubes. As if you need them. You know you're her favorite."

"Don't be green, Brody. Leave that to Banner." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Ha, ha. You know it's true. But I have to admit it's not totally undeserved. I mean, you're okay."

"Oh, so generous."

Brody was about to respond when every mobile device in the room started to go off. Alva quickly reached for her cell as Brody did the same.

There had been an incident. Immediate reaction requisite. Every mission manager was called to the main operating room. 

"Oh shit. That must be something big." Brody muttered. 

Alva just nodded as she grabbed her stuff and hurried with the others out of the room. Unprepared missions were the worst. 

...

Something... had crashed into the Glacier National Park. Thankfully still on the US side. The Canadian government could be surprisingly difficult sometimes. Missions on US territory were easier to handle than most. And the area of the impact was uninhabited, which was a blessing because the result of whatever happened left a pretty big mess. According to the satellites, an area of five football fields was affected. 

Alva sat with a few other people in the live mission room, walking non stop to get a hold of the situation. Noting had entered the atmosphere, no plane or something big enough for that was missing. Also, it seemed like no bombs were fired, there was no explosion. They had no idea what caused this. 

But there was this energy data. It wasn't her area of expertise. But everybody around here called it cosmic energy. The stuff those damned infinity stones left behind. 

Brody was busy making sure no humans were in the area of impact or nearby. Alva was in touch with the Park Rangers to get as much relevant information for their team on the ground as possible. Bruce Banner was there as well as Wanda Maximoff and James Rhodes. So far they found nothing then a devastated forest. 

_"This place is a disaster. It does look like bomb explosions. But nothing is burnt. No fires anywhere."_ They heard Rhodey through the speakers.

_"It's more like a blast. A shock wave."_ Banner replied. 

The bodycams of the group shown the destruction. Trees were shattered, dust still settling. It sure looked like a warzone. 

Carefully the group went around till Rhodey spoke up. " _Guys I got a heat signature!_ "

Alva only listened and watched slightly. She was still trying to get a few medics in the area, just in case. 

But an unexpected mumbling which went through the room and the stopping of any other activities from the people around her finally made her watch closely as well.

The team was looking at something or someone lying on the ground, covered in dust and dirt. 

" _Is that...?_ " 

_"It can't be,_ " Wanda whispered. 

" _Thor said he died. For real this time. More than six years ago._ " You could hear the sheer bewilderment in Rhodey's voice.

There was a groaning, the person on the ground moved. 

" _Well, I don't know how he did it, but it sure looks like him._ " Bruce sounded unimpressed. " _That's Loki."_

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it to this part, thank you so much for reading. I'm not a native English speaker with no beta so far, so please have mercy.
> 
> I had this idea for a story in my head for a while now. Encouraged by a few lovely comments on my other Loki story I thought I give it a try.
> 
> Tags will be added, I don't want to give up to many spoilers. The story plays in two different timelines (Now/Then) and I hope this makes it fun and not complicated :)  
> I would love for you to leave a comment and tell me what you think.
> 
> Again, thank you so much for reading.


End file.
